Auxiliary power wheel feed



Jan. 30, 1934. A, P. STEINER AUXILIARY POWER WHEEL FEED 2 SheetS- Sheet1 Filed. Oct. 4, 1928 IENTOR. emos P. sremcq.

wraith- Jan. 30, 1934. A. P. STEINER AUXILIARY POWER WHEEL FEED .FiledOct. 4, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. QMAS P STUNEQ.

- TTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 30, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

AUXILIARY POWER WHEEL FEED Application October 4, 1928. Serial No.310,335

18 Claims.

This invention relates to power wheel feed mechanism for grindingmachines. An object of the invention is to provide power operative meansintegral or associated with manual means for feeding the grinding wheelinto the work.

A further object is to provide feeding means which will impart a shortrapid movement to the wheel base for a part of the feeding in of thewheel and a gradual feeding for the remainder of the distance.

Still another object is to provide convenient controlling means foroperating the power feedmg means.

Further objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are made a. part hereofand on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts,

Figure 1 is an end elevation of a grinding machine showing the method ofmounting the power wheel feed and the controlling means for the same,

Figure 2, a plan view of the wheel feed mechanism partly in section, and

Figure 3, a sectional side elevation of the feed regulator assembly.

In the drawings, Fig. 1, reference character 10 indicates the bed of agrinding machine having a work carriage 11 and a grinding wheel base 12.The grinding wheel base is adapted to slide in guide-ways on a sub-slide13. The grinding wheel base 12 carries a grinding wheel 14 mounted upona shaft 15. The grinding wheel base 12 is movable toward and from thework carriage by means of a hand wheel 16 secured upon a sleeve 1'7. Thesleeve 1'7 is provided with an elongated keyway 18. A key 19 in a shaft20 secures the sleeve 1'7 against rotation upon the shaft 20, butpermits axial movement of the said shaft 20 relative to the sleeve. Theshaft 20 has integral therewith a worm 21 which meshes with a worm wheel22 upon a shaft 23. The lower end of the shaft has a pinion 24 madeintegral therewith or secured thereupon, which pinion meshes with a rack25 on the sub-slide 13. Rotation of the.

hand wheel 16, through the means just' described, will move the grindingwheel base carrying the grinding wheel toward or from the work carriageas desired. The feeding means just described is substantially that usedin many well known grinding machines. The structure about to bedescribed provides power means for moving the grinding wheel base towardand from the work. The casting which carries the hand wheel 16 hassecured thereto a bracket 26 in which is provided a cylinder 2'7. Theend of the shaft 20 extends into thiscylinder and carries a piston 28.An extension 29 of the rod 20 has secured thereon a yoke 30. The yoke isadjustably secured upon the rod by means of nuts 31.

The yoke 30 carries bolts or studs 32 which extend through bores in theend of the bracket and are secured in lugs 33 on a cup-like member 34which is provided with a cylindrical insure fluid through a pipe 43 tothe said valve and an exhaust pipe 44 returns the fluid from the valveto the reservoir in the base of the machine. Pipes 39' and 40 areconnected to the said valve 41. The control valve 41 is provided with apiston 45, which is operated by a foot pedal 46. The foot pedal issecured upon a shaft 47. A rock arm 48 on the shaft 47 is connected tothe plunger 45 and a rock arm 49 is secured to a plunger 50. This latterplunger passes through a supporting bracket 51 which is secured upon thebase of the machine. A compression spring 52 is secured upon the plunger50 by means of nuts 53. As shown in Fig. 1, the valve plunger isnormally held in its upward position by means of the spring 52, but ismovable to its lower position by the pedal 46. A reservoir 55 is mountedupon the cylinder 34. The interior of this reservoir is in communicationwith the interior of the cylinder 34 by means of ports 56, 5'7 and 58. Aspring pressed valve 59 closes the port 5'7, and a needle valve 60controls the port 56. The valve 59 permits fluid to flow freely from thereservoir 'to the interior of the cylinder 34 but checks its retum' tothe reservoir. The needle valve 60 is adjustable by means of a threadedscrew 61'. A pin or bolt 62 secured upon the bracket 26 has an arm 63which is adaptedto strike the end of the cylinder 34 and limit its'outward'movement. The arm 63 is adjustable on pin 62 to vary theposition at which the regulator is picked up by the rapid feed and thedistance it travels after pick-up. The interior of the plunger 36 ishollowed out to provide a space into which the end of a bolt .carryingthe nuts 31 may enter. -A spring 64 is positioned around the plunger 36between the end of the cylinder 34 and the plunger 36.

The operation of the power control is as follows:

The normal position of the grinding wheel is forward against the work.In order to move it to the rear the foot pedal 46 is depressed,whichmoves the piston valve to admit pressure fluid through the pipe 39to the port 37 to the left of the piston. This drives the piston to theright as shown in Fig. 2. When driven to the right, the

worm 21 acts as a rack on the worm wheel 22 to rotate the shaft 23 tomove the wheel base 12 to the rear. When moving in this direction thekey 19 slides in the key-way 18 in the sleeve 17. As the shaft 20 movesto the right the spring '64 moves the cup-like cylinder 34 to the rightalong with the shaft 20. Fluid in the reservoir 55 may freely flowthrough the port 57 past the ball check valve into the cylinder 34. Whenthe foot pedal 46 is released, the spring 52 returns the plunger 45 toits upward position toreverse the flow of fluid through the valve and todeliver pressure fluid through the pipe 40 and the port 38 to the rightof the piston 28. r This tends to urge the shaft 20 to the left and theworm 21 left along with the shaft 20. The fluid in thecylinder 34however tends to prevent movement of the cylinder to the left. Therestricted port 56 allows fluid under pressure to be slowly forced upthrough the ports 58 and 56 into the reservoir 55. The speed with whichthe wheel base may move toward the left is determined by the size of theopening of the needle valve 60. By means of the screw 61 the restrictionmay be controlled to provide any predetermined speed with which thefeeding is carried on. The arm 63 limits the outward movement of thecylinder 34.

The manual wheel feed operated by wheel 16 also provides means foradjusting the grinding wheel to provide for wearing away of the grindingwheel.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in my device without departing from the spirit of the invention,and I, therefore, do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawingsand described in the specification, but only as set forth in theappended claims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claiin as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a grinding machine having a work support and a grinding wheelbase, means for moving the grindingwheel base toward and fromthe worksupport comprising a rackmounted on the bed of the grinding machine, apinionmeshing with said rack, a shaft supporting said pinion, a wormwheel on said shaft, a hand wheel, a sleeve mounted in said hand wheel,a key-way in said sleeve, a shaft having a key secured therein andadapted to have axial movement through the said key-way, a worm uponsaid shaft adapted to mesh with said worm wheel, a cylinder, a piston onthe said shaft movably mounted in said cylinder, ports in the saidcylinder in communication with a source of fluid under pressure, anauxiliary cylinder movable with the said shaft, a fluid reservoir havingits interior in communication with the interior of the said last namedcylinder, a 'valvein said reservoir adapted to permit liquid to flowfreely from the said reservoir to the said auxiliary cylinder and arestricted port between the said cylinderand the interior of the saidreservoir whereby fluid may freely flow from the reservoir to theinterior of the said cylinder but will have its flow restricted from thesaid cylinder to the said reservoir, substantially as set forth,

2. A grinding machine having a work support and a wheel base movabletoward and from the work support, a bracket mounted upon the wheel base,said bracket having a manually operable means for moving the wheel basetoward and from the work support and having pressure fluid meansconnected to and operable independently of the said manually operablemeans for moving the wheel base toward and from the work support, selfcontained auxiliary pressure fluid means for determining the speed ofmovement of the wheel base toward the work support when the said wheelbase has reached a predetermined position relative to the work supportand a manually operable valve positioned at the front of' the grindingmachine in control of movement of the wheel base toward and from thework support, said valve being biased to cause the wheel base normallyto rest in its most remote position from the work support, substantiallyas set forth.

3. In a grinding machine having a base, a work support, a grinding wheelsupport, means for moving the grinding wheel support toward and from thework support comprising a fixed bracket upon the grinding wheel support,a cylinder in said bracket, a piston in said cylinder,

operative connection between said piston and the 1 machine base forcausing relative movement between the said base and the wheel support,pressure fluid connections to said cylinder, and a separateself-contained hydraulic regulator for limiting movement of said piston,said regulator being directly connected in axial alignment with saidpiston, substantially as set forth.

4. In a grinding machine having a base, a work support, a grinding wheelsupport, means for moving the grinding wheel support toward and fromthe'work support comprising a fixed bracket upon the grinding wheelsupport, a cylinder in said bracket, a piston in said cylinder,operative connection between said piston and the machine base forcausing relative movement between the said base and the wheel support,pressure fluid connections to said cylinder, and

a separate self-contained hydraulic regulator.

for limiting movement of said piston, said regulator being directlyconnected in axial alignmentwith said piston, fluid for operating saidregulator being independent of the fluid for operating the piston whichmoves the said wheel base, substantially as set forth.

5. In a grinding machine, a wheel support, a work support, hydraulicmechanism for moving the wheel support comprising a bracket having acylinder therein, a piston operable in said cylinder, said piston beingoperably connected to the wheel support for moving it toward and fromthe work support at a relatively high speed, a hydraulic feed regulatorseparate from said feed mechanism but adapted to cooperate therewith andto limit the speedof operation of said feed mechanism, said regulatorcomprising a stationary piston and a movable cylinder, the movablecylinder being connected to and in axial alignment with the said wheelfeed piston, substantially as set forth.

6. In a grinding machine having a work support and a grinding wheelsupport, means for moving the grinding wheel support toward and from thework support at high speed comprising a bracket having a cylindertherein and a rechine for moving the wheel support, the pistonbeingoperably connected to said rotatable means, so that the reciprocatingmotion of said piston will impart rotary motion to said wheel supportmoving means whereby movement of the piston will move the wheel supportand a regulator having means for limiting the speed of movement of thewheel base at a predetermined period in its movement toward the work,said regulator comprising a piston rigidly secured to the said bracket,a cylinder surrounding said piston, said cylinder being connected to thesaid piston to move therewith and a body of liquid having fluidconnections to the said cylinder, said body of liquid being independentof the fluid which operates to move the said wheel support relative tothe work support, substantially as set forth.

7. In a grinding machine, a wheel support, a work support, hydraulicmechanism for feeding one of said supports toward the other comprising apiston and cylinder mounted on the wheel support, a source of pressurefluid for said mechanism, a self contained hydraulic feed regulatorhaving a supply of fluid independent of said source, and connectionsbetween said hydraulic mechanism and said feed regulator whereby thelatter controls the rate of movement of the former, substantially as setforth.

8. In a grinding machine having a base, a work support and a grindingwheel support, means for moving the grinding wheel support toward andfrom the work support comprising a cylinder mounted on the wheelsupport, a piston in said cylinder, operative connection between saidpiston and the machine base for causing relative movement between saidbase and the wheel support, pressure fluid connections to said cylinder,and a separate self-contained hydraulic regulator for limiting movementof said piston, said regulator being directly connected in axialalignment with said piston, substantially as set forth.

9. In a grinding machine having a base, a work support, and a wheelsupport, means mounted on the wheel support for moving said supportcomprising a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder, a reduced speed driveconnection between said piston and the said wheel support wherebymovement of the piston will impart a relatively lesser movement to thewheel support, pressure fluid connections to the said cylinder, aseparate self-contained hydraulic regulator for limiting movement ofsaid piston, and means for limiting the movement of the regulator andfor adjusting the feed movement, substantially as set forth.

10. In a grinding machine, a wheel support, a work support, a hydraulicmotor for feeding one of said supports toward and from the othercomprising a piston and a cylinder, a source of pressure fluid for saidmotor, a self-contained hydraulic feed regulator having a supply offluid independent of said source, said motor and said feed regulatorbeing mounted upon and movable with said wheel support, and connectionsbetween said hydraulic motor and said feed regulator whereby the feedregulator controls the rate of movement of the wheel support during aportion of its movement, substantially as set forth.

11. In a grinding machine having a base and a work support, a grindingwheel support movable toward and from the work support, means foreffecting such movement comprising, a cylinder mounted on the wheelsupport,,a piston in said cylinder, 2. piston rod on said piston, saidpiston rod having a worm thereon engageable with a worm gear, a verticalshaft mounted in said wheel support, said shaft having said worm gearmounted thereon, a rack on said base, a pinion on said shaft engageablewith said rack, pressure fluid connections to said cylinder foroperating the piston to move the wheel support, and a separateself-contained hydraulic regulator for limiting movement of said piston,substantially as set forth.

12. In a grinding machine having a base and a work support, a grindingwheel support movable toward and from the work support, means foreffecting such movement comprising a cylinder mounted on the wheelsupport, a piston in said cylinder, a piston rod on said piston, saidpiston rod having a worm thereon engageable with a worm gear, a verticalshaft mounted in said wheel support, said shaft having saidworm earmounted thereon, a rack on said base, a pinion on said shaft engageablewith said rack, pressure fluid connections to said cylinder foroperating the piston to move the wheel support, and a separateself-contained hydraulic regulator for limiting movement of said piston,said regulator being connected in axial alignment with said piston,substantially as set forth.

13. In a grinding machine having a base and a work support, a grindingwheel support, means for moving the grinding wheel support toward andfrom the work support comprising a cylinder, a piston reciprocablelongitudinally of said cylinder, a piston rod connected to said piston,a worm on said piston rod, a shaft mounted in said wheel support saidshaft having a relatively large worm gear engageable by the said worm, arack on the said machine base, a relatively small pinion on the saidshaft engageable with the said rack whereby movement of the said pistoneffects a relatively smaller movement of the said wheel support,pressure fluid connections to the said cylinder and a separateself-contained hydraulic regulator for limiting the movement of saidpiston, said regulator being con nected directly with and limiting themovement of said piston, substantially as set forth.

14. In a grinding machine having a base, a work support and a grindingwheel support movable toward and from the work support, means for movingthe grinding wheel support toward and from the work support comprising acylinder mounted on the wheel support, a piston in said cylinder,operative connection between said piston and the machine base for movingthe wheel support relative to the work support, said operativeconnection comprising a rack on the wheel base, a shaft rotatablymounted in the said wheel support having a pinion engageable with thesaid rack, a gear on the shaft, a piston rod connected to said piston,said rod having a worm thereon engageable with the said gear wherebymovement of the piston will rotate said shaft to move said wheelsupport, pressure fluid connections to said cylinder and a separateself-contained hydraulic regulator for limiting movement of said piston,substantially as set forth.

15. In a grinding machine having a base, a work support and a grindingwheel support movable toward and from the work support, means for movingthe grinding wheel support toward and from the work support comprising acylinder mounted on the wheel support, a piston in said cylinder,operative connection between said piston and the machine base for movingthe wheel support relative to the work support, said operativeconnection comprising a rack on the wheel base, a shaft rotatablymounted in the said wheel support having a pinion engageable with thesaid rack, a gear on the shaft, a piston rod connected to said piston,said rod having a worm thereon engageable with the said gear wherebymove- 1 ment of the piston will rotate said shaft to move said wheelsupport, pressure fluid connections to said cylinder and a separateself-contained hydraulic regulator for limiting movement of said piston,said regulator being directly connected in axial alignment with saidpiston, substantially as set forth.

16. In a grinding machine a wheel support, a work support, hydraulicmechanism comprising a piston and a cylinder adapted to feed one of saidsupports toward the other, a hydraulic feed regulator, connectionsbetween said regulator and said feed mechanism, said connections beingindependent of any portion of the wheel support, substantially as setforth.

17. In a grinding machine, a wheel support, a

work support, fluid means to move said wheel support toward and fromsaid work support, means to effect said movement at high speed, means toreduce the high speed to grinding speed as the wheel approaches thework, comprising a hydraulic feed regulator, and means connecting saidfluid means and said feed regulator directly, said means beingindependent of the wheel support.

18. In a grinding machine, a wheel support, a work support, a hydraulicmotor for feeding one of said supports to the other comprising acylinder mounted in the wheel support and having a piston operabletherein and connected to means for moving the wheel support, a source offluid under pressure for operating said motor, a feed regulator having asupply of fluid for operating it independently of operation of saidwheel feeding motor and means for connecting said regulator directly tosaid wheel feed motor and independently of the wheel support, the wheelfeed regulator controlling the speed of the wheel feed motor.

AMOS P. STEINER.

